For Staten Island stabbing victim, final moments -- frame by frame

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The chaotic final moments of Antonio Lacertosa's life play out on grainy surveillance footage -- two videos that helped Redinel Dervishaj walk away from murder charges in the stabbing after a grand jury declined to indict him.

Now, those videos have been put on the Internet for all to see.

Lacertosa, 27, was stabbed to death at the Espana Restaurant in Annadale after celebrating his engagement.

Dervishaj, 35, said he stabbed the groom-to-be in self-defense, and his lawyer, Thomas Reilly, said the video now circulating online backed up Dervishaj's claim.

"Basically, it really just shows my client trying to get away from the rowdy crowd as much as possible, and unfortunately, he wasn't really given an opportunity," Reilly said.

The raucous melee was caught on two cameras next door. One, in color, is aimed at the sidewalk in front of the restaurant. The other, in black and white, shows the alley between the restaurant and the Annadale Family Pharmacy, where patio furniture and a bar were set up for outdoor dining.

The two videos were posted on YouTube by someone using the handle "Tomas Sangiorgio." As of late last night, they remained online. You can watch them in their unedited form here, and here. (Editor's note: Contains graphic images.)

"The district attorney's office did not release any evidence that we obtained for this investigation," said Peter N. Spencer, spokesman for District Attorney Daniel Donovan. "We will try to determine where the video came from."

Often, businesses voluntarily provide videos to law enforcement officials to aid investigations, but any copies they keep are legally theirs to do with as they see fit, a law enforcement source familiar with criminal cases said.

Lacertosa's brother, Joseph, did not return a phone call seeking comment from the family.

The video shows a large group of party-goers standing in front of the restaurant on the sidewalk, while a large white SUV limousine idles nearby. It appears that a man is urinating between two parked cars -- Reilly and law enforcement sources alike have identified that man as a Port Authority police officer.

Last month, a Port Authority police spokesman confirmed that Lacertosa's brother-in-law, Paul Como, a Port Authority officer, was being investigated for his role in the melee.

Restaurant manager Ridi Zeneli and Dervishaj arrive soon after in a truck Reilly said belongs to Dervishaj. The two were returning from another restaurant in New Jersey, and were looking to close the place up, Reilly said.

They approach the group, and within a few minutes the physical altercation begins, with one man shoving another -- it's unclear from the video who those men are. Within seconds, the men are involved in a large fist fight.

Dervishaj gets sent tumbling over the hood of a car parked in front of the restaurant. He quickly gets back onto his feet, hopping a bit before taking off. He runs into the alley of the restaurant.

The camera in the alley shows Dervishaj stopping at the passenger side of the truck in which he arrived. But he is unable to open the door, so he keeps running, disappearing from the frame.

Five men, including Lacertosa, follow in pursuit.

When asked why Dervishaj went for the passenger seat, Reilly said he said that in his haste Dervishaj saw the vehicle as safe haven, but quickly realized he wouldn't be able to enter it in time to escape.

"The D.A.'s office searched his car, thinking he was going for a weapon, but nothing was found," Reilly said.

Dervishaj and the men who followed him disappear from the video, and the stabbing happens out of the camera's view.

Moments later, Lacertosa walks back into the alley. He opens his suit jacket and looks down at his torso, where he had been stabbed. He walks to the edge of the alley before he collapses.

As Lacertosa falls to the ground and a few friends rush to help, Dervishaj and Zeneli re-enter the frame in the back of the alley -- Dervishaj with a knife visible in his hand. A woman and two men approach them -- one of the men identified by sources as the Port Authority police officer.

The man is waving something in front of him -- Reilly said Dervishaj contends he was holding up a badge.

Seconds later, the camera captures someone throwing a large chair at Zeneli, who then lashes out and swings it back before he and Dervishaj walk out of the frame.

As that confrontation winds down, Lacertosa's friends hover over his body.

Somebody removes a shirt to press it against his wound as he lay on the ground, near the sidewalk.

Members of his group pace back and forth, holding cell phones. A grief-stricken blonde woman appears to sob on the sidewalk. A passerby watches the scene play out, smoking a cigarette. One man is so upset he has to be physically restrained by another member of the group.

It's about five and a half minutes from the time Lacertosa collapses until the first police car arrives.

By that time, his groups of friends appear frantic, picking him up and trying to load him into a black SUV. They stop once the officers arrive, placing him back into the street.

While Lacertosa's brother Joseph did not return a call to the Advance, he did write about the video on Facebook several days ago, saying he had seen it.

"The videos DO NOT prove innocence, what they DO NOT DO is prove guilt!," he writes.

He writes that the unarmed members of Lacertosa's party are "fighting for their lives." For all that the camera did capture, what happened between Dervishaj and his brother happened off screen.

"Unfortunately for the prosecution, our family and most of all, justice, what remains out of view is not recorded," he wrote.